This study indicates that one football pitch of forest worldwide was illegally felled every two minutes between 2000 and 2012 in order to meet the European demand for meat, leather, palm oil and soy. It is common knowledge that the EU is a world leader in imports of crops grown in deforested areas. Fern’s study now shows the extent to which this is the result of illegal deforestation. More than half of these products imported into the EU originate from Brazil, where it is estimated that 90% of the deforestation is illegal. A quarter of the products come from Indonesia, where 80% of the deforestation is illegal. 1.
PARLEMENT EUROPEEN - Réponse à question E-003184-15 Protection of forests in the EU. Forests represent an environmental asset that is vital for combating climate change, pollution and the rise in greenhouse gases in Europe.